WASHINGTON (AP):

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the United States has no illusions that Iran will accept overtures to return to negotiations about its nuclear programme and will not wait much longer for Tehran to respond.

Both Clinton and national security adviser James Jones said in interviews aired yesterday that Washington has little choice but to deal with the government of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The US hopes to use a variety of economic enticements to lure the Iranians away from the nuclear pro-gramme, fearing it will create an arms race in the Middle East.

In the meantime, the Obama administration is working with the five permanent UN Security Council members - US, Britain, Russia, China and France - and Germany on a new and tougher round of sanctions should the Iranians reject or ignore the US overture.

Clinton said the United States would re-evaluate its efforts to entice Iran back to the negotiating table in September.

"We are under no illusions. We were under no illusions before their elections that we can get the kind of engagement we are seeking," she said in an interview with CNN's 'GPS'.

"We are under no illusions. We were under no illusions before their elections that we can get the kind of engagement we are seeking," Clinton said in an interview with CNN's 'GPS'.